Business news in brief

In the Region

Closer review for Pa. gas drilling

Pennsylvania environmental regulators have agreed to take more precautions before they approve certain permits for oil and natural-gas drilling sites where well construction poses a pollution threat to some of the state's highest-quality waterways. The Department of Environmental Protection agreed to the measures to settle a complaint by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, first filed in 2009, that also asserted the agency had approved three deficient permit applications. The settlement essentially reverses some steps the department took to speed up permitting for Pennsylvania's booming natural-gas industry in the Marcellus Shale formation. The settlement, dated Wednesday, was approved by an Environmental Hearing Board judge. The stricter review process could take up to 60 days. Currently, those permits can get approved in two weeks. - AP

SAP extends two CEOs' contracts

SAP A.G., the business software giant with major operations in Newtown Square, said its supervisory board had extended the tenures of its co-chief executives through June 30, 2017. Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe were named to the executive board of the German company in 2008 and became co-CEOs in February 2010. They succeeded Leo Apotheker, now CEO of Hewlett-Packard. "Under Bill's and Jim's guidance, SAP has returned to growth and further extended its leadership in business software while delivering breakthrough innovations in the software industry to market," said Hasso Plattner, chairman of the SAP supervisory board. - Mike Armstrong

Inovio and Penn expand licensing deal

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc., Blue Bell, said it had expanded a license agreement with the University of Pennsylvania for technology and intellectual property for DNA vaccines against a variety of diseases, including prostate cancer, malaria, and hepatitis B. No numbers were released on how much Inovio will pay, but the company said that it involved royalty payments on future sales and that Inovio was still deep in the development process. The vaccines and technology were developed in the Penn laboratory of David B. Weiner, a pioneer in DNA vaccines and chairman of Inovio's scientific advisory board. - Mike Armstrong

Elsewhere

Foreclosure rules easing for jobless

The government announced steps aimed at delaying foreclosures when unemployed homeowners miss mortgage payments. The Obama administration is changing requirements to extend the minimum forbearance period for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration to unemployed homeowners from four months to 12 months. Forbearance is an agreement by both sides to delay foreclosure. The government also plans to require servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program to extend the minimum forbearance period to 12 months wherever possible under regulator and investor guidelines. - Alan J. Heavens

Security holes in iPhones and iPads

A new security hole has opened up in Apple Inc.'s iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices, raising alarms about the susceptibility of some of the world's hottest tech gadgets to hacker attacks. Flaws in the software running those devices came to light after a German security agency warned that criminals could use them to steal confidential data off the devices. Apple said it was working on a fix that would be distributed in a software upgrade. With the security hole, an attacker can get malicious software onto a device by tricking its owner into clicking an infected PDF file. The latest concerns were prompted by the emergence of a new version of a program to allow Apple devices to run any software and circumvent the restrictions that Apple retains over software distributed through its online store. - AP

Rating agencies irk Eurogroup chief

Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker is calling for "more responsible behavior" from rating agencies after a much-criticized downgrade for Portugal. European officials have been scathing about Moody's downgrade this week, just as a new Portuguese government pushes through austerity measures. Juncker is also Luxembourg's prime minister. European hopes of getting banks to contribute to a second Greek rescue package also are running into trouble with rating agencies. Asked about the chances of their contributing, Juncker repeated that voluntary participation of the private sector was needed and that meetings were under way. - AP

Pfizer may sell two divisions

Pfizer Inc. said it might sell its animal health and nutrition businesses in the next two years so it could focus on expanding its low-cost pharmaceuticals unit. New York-based Pfizer, with operations in the Philadelphia area, has faced pressure to eliminate some business units and return more cash to shareholders. Any transactions could take one to two years to complete, Pfizer said. It does not expect to provide any further updates until 2012. The businesses brought Pfizer $5.5 billion in revenue in 2010, about 8 percent of its total. - AP

Airbus keeps lead over Boeing

Airbus S.A.S. delivered more airliners and won more orders in the first half of the year than in 2010, keeping its lead over Boeing Co. Airbus, which has produced the most commercial planes every year since 2003, said it had handed 258 jets to customers this year through June. That was eight more than the France-based company delivered in the first six months of 2010. Chicago-based Boeing said it had delivered 222 aircraft, unchanged from a year earlier. Airbus said it had secured 640 orders in the first half. Boeing's net orders fell to 171, from 177 a year earlier. Both plane makers have said they are boosting production this year to work off record order backlogs. - Bloomberg News

New York City tops parking-rate list

An annual survey of parking rates across the country found that midtown and downtown Manhattan are the most expensive places in the United States to put your car. The survey from Colliers International found that the median monthly rate is $541 in midtown and $533 downtown. That's more than three times the national average of just over $155. Philadelphia's median rate is $304, fifth on the list. Other cities with expensive monthly parking rates include Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle. The low end of the scale included Reno, Nev., where the median monthly rate is $45, and Phoenix, at $50. - AP

Fixed mortgage rates climb

Fixed mortgage rates rose this week by the most in four months. The average rate on a 30-year loan increased to 4.60 percent, up from 4.51 percent a week ago, Freddie Mac said. It hit its lowest level of the year three weeks ago, at 4.49 percent. The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 3.75 percent. It reached its low point of the year two weeks ago, at 3.67 percent. - AP